Angel On The Sideline
by The DarkCat
Summary: "Why were they given free will?" In the year 1971, Mayu asked herself, seeing the people, who she thought to be her friends, spiral down in lies and mistakes.


1971-07-13

"Alright, Yohio, I think we are all set to go!" A brown-haired teenager said, while pushing the round glasses up his nose. His golden-haired friend, Yohio, looked over the ten-year old Volkswagen Beetle and it's metal roof. The object had been removed and set aside near other instruments, that had been lithered on the ground. But Yohio didn't bother to analyse them, or recall their names, a car seemed to be the same as algebra to him. And he barely passed the latter this year. After a minute Yohio sighed, leaning at the vechicle's dusty window.

"Maybe. Did you took everything we'll need for this trip?"

"I thought you did..." Kiyoteru threw his friend a confused look, then waved his oil stained arms. "As you can see, bud, my hands are full over here."

"Well, you know I can't just waltz in to my house like this to pick up money."

"You should've, I'm not paying for the gas this time. I'm empty, Yohio."

"Well I can't meet my father after I've put him in debt, he'll kick my arse for sure!" Yohio hissed, shoving the dust from the road and onto the wilting grass - the summer's heat exhausted the nature as well it seemed.

"Well I'm sorry, that we've made bad decisions." Kiyoteru rolled his eyes, while scanning the road for his previously dropped screwdriver.

"A sorry won't cut it, Kiyoteru. I have to sleep in the church now."

"Which one? And how do they let you in?"

"The Saint John's. Rememeber?"

Kiyoteru just blinked in response, beginning to scratch his head. Although what did Yohio expect? As long as he had known Kiyoteru, the latter was always forgetful. Eventually the golden-haired male finished, because his friend was quiet. Maybe somebody seeled his lips a moment ago?

"Nearly every weekend we used to clean the floor or pews for pocket money. That was two years ago..."

"Oh! Now I remember!"

"Do you? Who did we meet there?"

"Ah... What?"

"Come on, Kiyoteru, there was this really beautiful girl with light hair and red eyes." Yohio motioned his hands in front of his face, immitating the long flowing hair. " You even had a crush on her. Do you not remember?"

"Ah... No."

"Why am I not surprised? Her name was Mayu. We called her Angel."

Kiyoteru hummed, deep in thought. And Yohio procceded to kick the rubble in annoyance. Soon enough though he turned to his friend with pinched lips, that he began to chew in mere seconds, before speaking up.

"You're useless. I'll leave you with this headache." Yohio waved his hand Kiyoteru's way, then shambled on the cobblestone path toward the town's central park. "Just get the money before the fete. Adieu!"

"Wait!" Kiyoteru's head shot up suddenly at his companion. But by the time his psyche conjured up a suitable decline, Yohio was nearly out of sight. The brunet sighed, leaned his elbow at the heated tire, which burned the unwanted weight, and placed his chin on top of the palm. Now what was he suppose to do? It was futile to hope, that his parents would lend him anymore than needed, he was reluctant to steal money too. His only way out was, to ask someone for the cash.

X X X

1971-07-17

Days were ticking by faster than Kiyoteru would have liked. Previous summer, on that exact day, he would have been happy, seeing, that so little was left until the rock festival, but now he was terrified. The brown-haired teenager was bare without a cent. Though it seemed he wasn't keen to search for a solution.

Instead, Kiyoteru was perched upon the balcony's railling, browsing through a book, that he was suppose to read during the summer period for school. He was trying to build up his courage to actually accomplish that task. Although soon, a familiar girl, walking through the neighboorhood with a colorful umbrella, caught his attention. Kiyoteru dropped the book inside the balcony, and pushed his mother's beloved flower pots to the side. The boy jumped down right after, eager to meet the girl, although his landing wasn't as heroic as the brunet wished. Kiyoteru landed butt first in the shrubs below, letting out a groan.

"Wha... What was that?" The ivory-haired girl wondered to herself and warrily glanced around. In the meantime Kiyoteru fought to stand up, ripping the edges of his sleeves in the process. Finally he peeked his head out, with a huge smile.

"Angel! It's so nice to see you again!" He exclaimed, cleaning himself off of the reluctant branches, and Mayu giggled to herself, behind her feeble, pale fingers.

"Oh, Kiyoteru, long time no see, indeed. Huhuhu."

"Hey, what's so funny?" The teenager cocked an eyebrow, feeling embarassed.

"Your hair. It's full of branches. Dear! You seem like a bird nest! Hahahah!"

Kiyoteru paused in his steps to throughly rummage through his head. He couldn't let himself be made fun of by his crush, what will she think of him now? He had to look the best and that shrub, even though saved his landing, ruined his chances. Futhermore, he looked back at the plant, with the hideous state he left it in, it probably won't harbor fruit for a while. His mother will kill him for sure...

"Are you okay, Kiyoteru?" Mayu tilted her head to the side, while swiveling the umbrella by the handle.

"Yeah, perfect! So where are you heading through this side of the town?"

"To my grandparents." Mayu pointed ahead to the littered pathway. "They live near this neighborhood."

"Wov! I never knew, your relatives resided in this dump!" Kiyoteru exclaimed and a Mayu's eyes evaded contact, while she momentarilly bit on her lower lip. The brown-haired boy cleared his throat, while his mind finally settled on the words, he was suppose to utter. Now if only his mouth would be ready to vocalize them, without stammering. Damn, he even felt a wave of heat travel to his forehead, alas if Kiyoteru will not speak up now, his chance will be lost.

"L-listen, me and Yohio... You remember him, don't you? The blonde guy, that cleaned the pews with us in the Saint John's church."

The girl gave a nod.

"So w-we are planning to go to a rock festival in a few days... Ahm, and well. May... Maybe you'd, ah, like to join us?"

"Sure!"

"Wait, huh?"

"Yeah, it'd be fun! I wanna escape from home for a while. So then I'll see you..."

"Thursday..." Kiyoteru cut her off, before gulping down a huge chunk of saliva, as a mental kick to continue. "Morning in front of the churh. Take some money with you for the fee and a tent, Angel."

"Great! See you then!" Mayu waved, before running off. Just then Kiyoteru allowed himself to release a built up sigh and lean at the cracked wall of the nearby house. Nevertheless a smirk graced his lips. Who would have thought, that finding money to cover their expenses would be so easy?

X X X

1971-07-20

It was a sunny morning and the sky seemed clear with very few clouds passing by. It was a perfect weather for a trip to the woods. The pebbles, that lay on the gravel road, scattered under the wheels of the car and produced mountains of dust after. But even though the ride was bumpy, the company wasn't a tad concerned. They had rolled down the roof, so that they could get some fresh air from the risen wind, and besides the cloudy sky was a wonderful sight to behold.

"Look, Kiyoteru, that cloud looks like a face!" Mayu joyfully pointed her finger upwards.

"A face, huh? I can't see a face there..."

"It's worthless, Angel." Yohio interrupted, going after a sharp turn, and causing his both friends to stumble to one side in the backseat with a yelp. The blonde teenager emitted a sad hum, before apologising. "Sorry, for that. Anyways, as I was saying, Kiyoteru doesn't have any imagination, so don't be too harsh on him, Angel. Not all of us are gifted."

Mayu blinked dumbfoundedly at the explanation, before offering a small snicker. Kiyoteru felt a slight heat threatening to dye his cheeks, he glared at Yohio, hopping to escape the embarassment.

"Say something like that again, and I'll kill you, man."

"Yeah, yeah, you say that every time, I make fun of you, think of something new for a change... Now hold on." Yohio smirked, before making another turn into a small, poriferous path in the forest. Mayu gasped again, hastily getting a hold of the door. And Yohio battled with the many holes and rocks, that were scattered and were probably just laying in wait to do severe damage to the old car. And as their ride rolled over another obstacle, causing a side of the car to elevate for an instant, the brown-haired teenager grasped the edge of the window and leaned to the driver.

"Yohio, don't you dare kill my cousin's Beatle over here!"

"Well, I'd like to see you try maneuvering in this mess." The blonde man shot back, and Kiyoteru after taking sight of the path in front, sank back to the creaking seat. Yohio emitted a breath. "Thought so, now shut your mouth and let me handle this."

After a few more minutes the outline of a wide field finally opened up to them. The senile trees became lesser and lesser, as the group made their way to the already populated meadowy area. Mayu couldn't take her eyes away from the numbers of joyfully chatting people, and the lit campfires. Her mouth even agaped in wonderment, while the car avoided the freshly built tents. Soon enough a few oddly dressed teenagers waved to them, and Yohio, gave a peace sign in return.

After they had found a parking spot, Mayu was the first one to get out of the car. She gently turned around her axis, admirying the surrounding forest, and the wast spread branches, that shivered with the winds rhythm. The ocean of leaves pulsated like giant waves in the sky. And the air, how could Mayu forget the fresh gusts caressing her dusty face. This all seemed surreal for her, mesmerising, too big to intake.

"Where are we?" The girl eventually gathered her thoughts to ask out loud.

"This is where the rock festival will be held. But if you're asking me, then I call this the Heaven's Forest!" Yohio responded with a wide smile, resting his hands behind his head. In the meantime Kiyoteru took out the tents and other bags from the car. Mayu just gave a slight nod to Yohio, as her eyes continued their journey of exploration. Although suddenly her dreamy thoughts were broken by a loud whistle. This caused fright to scurry on the girl's back, but the sudden shrilly voice, also envoked huge smiles to be plastered on her companions' faces. And soon Mayu herself spotted a small green-haired girl, rushing towards them with a wave.

"Yohio, Kiyo! What took you two so long!"

"Ah! Gumi, it's so good to see you again!" Yohio greeted, and hugged the girl, before she slipped free, running to Kiyoteru, for a quick handshake. After the formalities were settled, she stood on her tip toes, peering at the brown-haired teen.

"Seriously, we were waiting for you. What happened?!"

"Nothing really, we just had to pick up a person." Kiyoteru explained, while Mayu stood between the two, feeling rather dumbfounded. The brown-haired boy suddenly tapped his head akwardly. "Oh, where are my manners? You're not acquainted yet... Ahm. So, ah, Gumi this is Mayu, a friend of ours."

"I see! Nice to meet you, Mayu! Welcome aboard to the coolest place on the whole Earth!" The greenette boasted, then hastily robbed Mayu's hand to give it a shake. The white-haired girl smiled uneasily straight after. And when Gumi spotted the reaction, she pouted her lips for an instant. "Say, how old are you?"

"... Fifteen."

"Oh! You are the same age as me! Then don't act so shy! Come on, we're all friends here, from now on. You can trust us!"

"Yeah."

"See? All better!" She tapped Mayu's palm, with her free hand, then turned to the boys." Now come on people! We have to set the tents, before the concert!"

"Yeah, we now that, you're not suppose to announce it." Yohio rolled his eyes, while taking the backpacks from Kiyoteru. Gumi smirked shortly, while fidgetting with the goggles, that had been hung around her neck. Soon enough she began trudging onwards, not sparing a glance back.

"Then follow me! I'll show you a free spot for settling down."

X X X

It was night already and the stars studded the dark, barren atmosphere. Alas it didn't brought any calmness or sleep to the gathered group, who disturbed the rest of the surrounding woods. If the youngsters could hush their voices, then they would obviously hear the nocturnal melody of the Nightingales, accompanied by the grasshoppers symphony, albeit that wasn't the case...

A huge campfire was lit in the middle of the field. A few souls, who were filled with adrenaline, dared to jump through the scorching flames, as means to pass the time. Although, that was the minority, most of the teenagers tended to sing songs and play guitars, while some delved into the woods, giggling and shrieking, as they treked further from the main light source.

Yohio, Kiyoteru and Mayu were sitting together on huge stones near the fire. They were watching as one misfortunate teen, burned his pants. For some reason, there was no conversation between them. Yohio idly munched on a plucked out weed, seeming disintrested in any topics at hand. Kiyoteru on the other hand kicked at the sand below his feet, and as the quiet prolonged he felt more and more anxious. And lastly, Mayu, who sat with a humped back, and clutching her light jacket, felt awkward. She hadn't seen any other of her acquaintances fooling around, so the teenager began to think, that she didn't belong in this place.

"Hey, you dimwits! What's with the mournful faces?! Did you sold your youth or something?!" A low-pitched girl's voice bursted out. Yohio's reflexes were the fastest, as he turned around, seeing a smirking Gumi, who held four wrappings in her hands.

"Nah, we're fine. Gumi." Yohio scratched his head, mumbling through the grass in his mouth. "So what are you doing, got tired of your classmates' company already?"

"Company?! Blah. They're all about gossip anyway." Gumi narrowed her eyes, placing her hands on her hips." Note to self, never bring your school friends to the 'Heaven Forest' ever again!"

Soon enough Kiyoteru's eyes landed on the wrapped items in the green-haired girl's grasp. He pointed at them.

"What's in there?"

"Oh? Kiyo's nose works the best. Those are home made sandwiches, eat up! Hah! I mean somebody has to make sure you don't starve to death."

"Hey! We can make our own food!" Yohio barked back, ripping apart the paper from the offered snack.

"As if! All you care is about your car! You never give a damn about other necesities, like food or a place to sleep."

Yohio rolled his eyes and Kiyoteru grimaced, toying with the wrapping. They didn't really wanted to listen to a girl, who was about three years younger then them, furthermore had zero experiance in real life. It seemed ridiculous. After Gumi notted, that Kiyoteru and Yohio were ignoring her, she ruffled both of the boys' hair, causing a groan from the blonde. She added.

"Don't you dare say otherwise. I mean, Yohio, look at yourself, you sleep in the church, and spend your earned pocket money, on either alcohol or parties." She then pointed at Kiyoteru. "This one has some brains at least, didn't exactly got kicked out by his parents. But still, Kiyo, Yohio's bad influence for you. You don't eat anything healthy!"

Mayu looked over at the commotion and momentarilly spotted Yohio's and Kiyoteru's angered eyes, that darted at the motherly, yet sharp fifteen-year old. The sight seemed really amusing to her, so unable to control herself, she chuckled, hiding her mouth between her fingers. Gumi gave the the white-haired girl's shoulder a gentle caress then.

"Now you see, who you got stuck with, Mayu. Don't let those idiots drag you into one of their pranks."

"Hey! I swear nothing like that crossed my mind!" Kiyoteru rose up from his seat. And Gumi only grinned in response, suddenly sitting beside them, and taking a part of her own sandwich. Then she swiftly changed the root of the conversation, so their little bundle began to laugh again.

Unfortunately after a few minutes, a ruckus aroused on the other side of the flame. Taken aback, the group momentarilly paused. A couple of adolescents were tripping on their own shoes, and some giggling friends just pushed down those, who were dazed. Guitars were unceremoniosly thrown to the side, as a few began dancing, blundering and slurring whatever lyrics came to mind. The remaining teenagers either waved off the commotion with swears, or encouraged by shouting, clapping along, and swallowing some pills, before actually joining. This act loooked like an invitation to somesort of a cult. In this chaos few people nearly shoved one of their own into the fire, yet the victim still giggled between hoarse breaths.

Mayu leaned onto Kiyoteru in fright, before muttering.

"W-what's going on here?"

"Don't worry, Angel, everything's under control." Yohio threw up a peace sign, and just after that, a bottle crashed near their group. The white-haired girl shrieked. "Kind of... Oi, Gumi, do you know, where they got the good stuff?"

The green-haired teenager stood up from the stone, keeping her hands in her long skirt's pockets, and munching on her lips. Gumi shrugged afterwards.

"I heard that back in the forest someone's giving away meds from the cold."

"Well, that'll have to do. But they're probably stolen anyway." His eyes scanned the slackly dancing crowd. He murmured tiredly. "To feed this load, they should have a lot..."

"What do you care, if their bought legally or not? You're coming, or not?"

"Sure am." Yohio stretched his arms, before he smiled at Mayu, who intently listened to their conversation. She was, no doubt, new to this stuff. "Don't worry, Angel, stay here with Kiyoteru. We'll be right back."

And Mayu did just that, leaning at the older boy's chest. She gulped dryly and then waited, not daring to look at the raging gathering as if one glimpse could turn her into one of their own. Suddenly a tall violet-haired girl, remarkably older than most of the teens, shouted with a dry throat for a few times. Eventually it caused a few whirls of keen heads. She dizzily and little bit stammerly pointed out, that there was a seaside behind the forest. So most of the junkies followed the twin-haired girl like hypnotized monkeys. The minority, that had refused the offer, didn't choose to stay either, heading to the woods, or their tents. In the end the only two teenagers, who were left to guard the campfire, were Kiyoteru and Mayu.

"So..." Kiyoteru cleared his throat, trying to catch Mayu's attention. He had to do something. After all, this was a chance to talk to her, without having to deal Yohio's cold remarks." What's your impression of the Heaven's Forest?"

Mayu was silent for a while, just lazilly blinking, and staring at the fire. Finally she released a built up sigh.

"Weird. Not entirelly in a bad way. I guess I'm just not used to this kind of life."

"Oh?"

"Uhm. I was trying to say, that I never used to go out into big forests, or stayed out late like this... or even talked to such odd people near a campfire, while eating stale sandwiches. Your friends are really odd, but funny too. How did you met Yohio and Gumi anyway?"

"Ahm..." Kiyoteru's voice got stuck in his throat. And for a few seconds he allowed the silence to erupt between them. In that time he analysed Mayu's words, which intrigued him. "Yeah, ah. Me and Yohio used to be classmates in middle school, we kind of hitted off as good pals. And Gumi was Yohio's childhood friend, so one day we all met and... That's how we ended up here. I call it fate, yeah, stupid, I know." Kiyoteru emitted a nervous laugh at the end, as if doubtful of the last phrase.

"No. It's not stupid at all." Mayu shook her head, with a slight frown set to her face, which she quickly hid from view. " Fate does have unexplainable ways to shift our future, but we have to except the chances and changes given to us... Say, Kiyoteru, this might be not the right question... But Gumi mentioned that Yohio sleeps in the church, is that true?"

"Unfortunately... It all started, when he quit school two years ago, then there was the event of him getting along with some bad crowd. Obeying their order Yohio had stolen money from his hardworking father, while he was still paying for the renovation of the house. In the end, he had put his father in a deep debt, and got disowned. Now Yohio cleans the pews in the Saint John's church for scraps of money... Wait. Maybe I shouldn't have said all that..."

"No. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Mayu moved away from him and waved her hands in a defensive manner. The girl pinched her lips into a thin line, and a sulky atmosphere overtook both of them, while the fire scantilly illuminated their mingling shadows and blew a wave of heat to the teenagers direction, as if it was a stolen kiss. After quite some while, Kiyoteru turned to his companion a little bit flustered.

"Could I question you on one thing?"

"Depends on what you want to know."

"Ah, it's nothing serious. Just wanted to ask, how were your grandparents doing?" Mayu cocked an eyebrow at Kiyoteru, making the boy's shoulders tense. So he stammered, trying to explain himself." Ah. I-I me-mean, when we, mhh, met on Monday, y-you said you were go-going to visit them."

"Oh. Right. Well, as you might know, my family isn't like the majority of this town..."

"I'll pause you, Angel... I-I don't recall you saying this to me." Kiyoteru fidgetted with his sweaty fingers, evading eyecontact in shame. Mayu just smiled contently at the boy's absentmindedness.

"You probably forgot, then I'll gladly repeat. Two years have passed since I divulged a part of my background. So, yeah, my father's side descended from a long lineage of aristocrats. And he's deeply religious, which makes the matters even worse for me. So you remember the time, when I was cleaning the statues in Saint John's?"

"Of course I do."

"That was my punishment for not obeying his law. To put it simply, I got a lower grade on my private studies." Kiyoteru hadn't even noticed, how his mouth agaped. The sour information seeped into his brain. He wanted to puke. In that silent minute Mayu just tilted her head sadly, while swinging her legs. "Yeah, that's how my life basically went. My every move, every word, every motive, and knowledge were controlled. I was a hollow shell, afraid to let my mother and father down, to not exceed their expectations. Hmm, I could say, that I was their precious little doll, which they could boast about to their noble friends. I was someone, who's shoulders were heavy from the dreams and desires of others. I had little of my own wants, because I had to work to accomplish their's."

"Angel..." Kiyoteru whispered still in shock. He had no idea, what should be said in this situation, how could he comfort her or if she even needed that right now. All that the brown-haired boy did was clench his fists. Mayu added soon enough.

"It's alright, let me finish. As my years rolled into adolescence, my attitude and the withheld feelings began exploding from time to time. I disobeyd, paied lesser attention to studies, gone out in the nights. I craved freedom, I needed to do that, I needed escape, no matter, how little it might be... That day after getting another bad grade, I yelled at my father, what a fool I was. That was how I ended up cleaning the church, as a trial for my redemption. I spat on it, not literally though. I did not care. Maybe, when I'll grow old, I will finally come to understand my father's teachings, but not back then, not now. I continued to disobey... " Mayu drummed her nails on the stone, after the brief pause, she mumbled in a hurry." In the end, I managed to make a deal, as long as I would study hard, I could live with the grandparents from my mother's side. I barely visit my real family now, mostly on holidays and weekends."

"Oh, I see." Kiyoteru sighed in relief, and Mayu turned to face him, handing the male a reassuring nod. The brunet could not hold a smile back, bewildered. Mayu was surely an angel in his eyes.

"Hey, lovebirds, hope we didn't miss anything!" Yohio's voice shattered through the air and Kiyoteru nearly jumped back like a cat, before he noticed his friend's figure shambling their way.

"Yohio, you are so done for!"

"Yeah, yeah, heard it a thousand times already."

"So." Kiyoteru coughed out on purpose, so he could catch Gumi's attention too. "How did it go?"

"No good." The green-haired girl pouted, while her arms were crossed below her chest, and her form hunched slightly from the piercing breeze. "The people had been already empty, before we came. They had absolutely no meds to offer."

"Yeah. It sucks..." Yohio blurted back as if he had that answer programmed into his mind. Meanwhile Mayu proceeded to swing her legs, whilst her face was masked, with the long strands of hair. Her brown-haired companion, who saw this change, bit on the inside of his cheek, then suddenly stood up, with an audible creak from his stagnant bones. Yohio's eyes trailled his friend's sudden movements, so Kiyoteru explained.

"Nature's calling, unless you want a manmade river here."

"Ew..." Gumi frowned, sticking out her tongue at the male." Could've kept those details to yourself, get going."

X X X

"He's surely taking his time..." Yohio scoffed, whilst tapping his foot in a steady beat.

It was well into the night now, and the fire was beginning to burn low, the radiance grew small, leaving more and more surroundings to the wilderness of the imagination. The heat diminished, so Gumi had brought a long cloth to cover herself and Mayu from the cold. Even though it was the middle of summer, the nights in the woods, still proved to be damp. Every object around them was at least partailly moist, occasional gusts, that stung the bones like snakes, didn't help likewise. In the end this wait wasn't to anyone's liking, more so when tiredness had began to knock at their frozen bodies. With these conditions, the silly atmosphere had morphed into a stagnant, dull suspension.

"I swear..." Yohio gritted again, through clattering teeth, while he hid his mouth behind his crossed elbows. "If he won't come back after a couple of minutes, I'm going to sleep. That jerk is probably doing that right now, or laughing at our state..."

"Could you shut up already?" Gumi rose her voice.

"Pfft, what a friend..."

"Yohio! If you wanna go to sleep, then go! Nobody needs a whiner over here!"

"Fine, fine... I'll be quiet then." The blonde man rolled his eyes with an exaggerated exhale. Then he set his narrowed eyes forward and spotted a lingering shadow. "That better not be a ghost..."

"What ghost?" Gumi threw the cover away, coming near Yohio, with a piqued interest. She yelled out to the figure. "Hey, are you a ghost, if not, answer!"

"Are you serious, Gumi?!" Kiyoteru's voice grunted from afar." Can't you recognise me?!"

Yohio let out a breath, and Gumi's shoulders relaxed at the well known tone. Mayu even jumped off of the stone, that she had been sitting on. Then soon after the brown-haired man got his hair ruffled, and his shoulder punched for scaring his friends like that. He just laughed awkwardly at the blaming.

"Ouch... Seriously, you could've went a little easier on my arm, Yohio." Kiyoteru winced, then began to rummage through his pockets. "Anyway, I also went to check up on my stuff, and guess, what I found?"

Yohio shrugged, while holding a smile.

"A screwdriver?"

"No. This!" The brown-haired man eventually showed them a couple of slightly damp and crumpled paper parcels. Gumi took one into her hand and whirled near the fire, scrutinizing. Soon enough she let out a gasp. Yohio gave her a questioning glance.

"You're a lifesaver, man! Don't give me that look, Yohio, that's cold medication!" The female laughed loudly, while spinning around her axis, with outstretched arms. And the blonde man yelled out.

"Really!? Give me some!"

As Yohio and Gumi went on gulping down tablet after tablet, and soon enough having fits of giggling, Kiyoteru and Mayu both sat down.

"Why don't you try? This would cheer you up." Kiyoteru offered the pills, after gulping a few. Mayu stared straight into the male's constricted, blurry pupils, before slowly shaking her head. The brown-haired man did not pressure anymore, and took out another bunch.

In the meantime Gumi chased Yohio around a campfire, until they collided with a loud thump, and shrilly cries. They fell down onto the wet grass, as if being eaten completely by large shadowy covers, with green pointy edges - slithering hands. Both of them seemed awestruck at the happening, as if it was the first time, their bodies felt the soil. Yohio and Gumi watched in amusement, as the sky mingled into gargoyle patterns, animal shapes and various colors. The sight made the teenagers' throats explode with laughter. They weren't laying in the damp meadow anymore, weren't seeing the sky, they were somewhere else, flying over their made up horizon...

Mayu's fragile frame shook, not from the cold, but out of fear. These unknown beings scared her. Even worse was the fact, that they themselves chose this forlorn path. This foolishness just did not made sense to her, their reason for losing their minds and selling their consciousness to the damned medications. It sickened the girl and she gently rose her fingers to wrap them around her mouth, which wanted to scream at the absurdity's face. Long lost were any other means: explanations, talking through, stopping them from consuming - the only reasonable solution was escape.

And that was, what she did. Kiyoteru had slurred something, but besides that nobody stopped her. Mayu closed her eyes solemnly. Perhaps she was the odd one out, because this intoxication was mundane to them, yet it made her nauseous. How come one thing coud have such deviated opinions? This contrast caused the white-haired girl to understand, that she didn't belong with them.

X X X

1971-07-21

The next morning rays lazilly ascended with the sun. The mist blurred the woods in the horizon and a thick layer of dew had condensated on the grass. The campfire was reduced to a pile of ashes, that spat out smoke. In this field, around the remains of the fire, were lines of tents, and fast footfalls trudged to one of them, presumably the worst one, from which legs were sticking out. A voice proclaimed.

"Yo, Kiyo!"

"Gumi?" The brown-haired teen murmured, as he poked his head, from under the warmth of the ragged tent. He grimaced at the rising sun, before mumbling. "How did you sleep?"

"Don't ask. Where's Yohio?"

"Vomitting. I think he had too much last night..."

"Figures." The green-haired female sneered, before glancing around, something was obviously amiss in this picture. "Where's Mayu, by the way? I don't remember seeing her, when we went back."

"Beat's me..." The brunet scratched his head, while his eyes were set on a well maintained tent, opposite from them. "Maybe she's still out."

"Out? Where?"

"Kuh." Kiyoteru palmed his face, releasing a muffled grunt." I meant to say, sleeping like the rest of us."

"Then say that normally!"

As the two began to argue. A pale faced Yohio shambled closer and a moment later the tent opposite from them, parted to reveal the grumpy white-haired girl. When Mayu spotted her chatting friends, she ran to them.

"Hey, good morning!" Gumi gave an enthusiastic wave, though the sulky girl ignored her, jabbing at Kiyoteru.

"Can I talk to you, Kiyoteru?"

"Ah, sure..."

"What was about that fee of the festival?"

At that moment the brown-haired man's mouth agaped and his heart seemed to fall out of his chest. Yohio glanced between the two skeptically, before enquirying.

"What fee? There was no payment here. What the hell, Kiyoteru?"

"I... Ah..." He swallowed heavilly, while his hands fidgetted together, it didn't help that everyone was now staring at him. He just wished to hide from them all, and likewise from the guilt, and his stupid mistakes.

"Spit it out." Gumi encouraged.

"I-I. Used... T-the. I took that money to pay for the gas!" He shouted, unable to handle the lingering scrutiny."I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Angel!"

"What?!" Gumi cocked an eyebrow with a snicker. "Are you a total dimwit?! In the end, that means you stole her money! And with such a cheep lie too! Honestly this is a comedy! Now you'll have to repay Mayu, and I mean every cent. Do you hear me, Kiyo?!"

The brunet barely motioned his head through the shivers, that wrecked his body, as he hid his face with a palm. The man tried to reassure his psyche, hat he had not done it on purpise, however the gnawing guilt, had a different theory. So as the pain in Kiyoteru's heart continued to pulse, he continued to hide in his shattering shell.

Gumi's gaze softened, and eventually she gave a soft pat on Kiyoteru's back. Alas Yohio wasn't that forgiving, the blonde kept his distance, bitting on the lower lip in disgust. Suddenly foreign fingers caught Yohio's arm, making the man flinch. Soon enough the light-haired man noticed the aggresor, a smirking redhead, with dark circles running below his eyes.

"Fukase?" Yohio muttered out of breath, while grip on his arm tightened. The invader nodded and spoke with a hoarse voice.

"Ah... Long time no see. I've got into some trouble."

"That's none of my business, let go." Yohio yanked his arm, freeing it from the clutches, but Fukase didn't seemed concerned about that. Instead he hid his hands in his huge, muddy pockets and calmly cleared his throat, like he always did before rising the dry voice, and shouted for Yohio's group to hear.

"Someone out of you, stole six packets of drugs! We want them back!"

Mayu shivered from the unperceived noise, while Gumi narrowed her eyes at the commotion. She knew well, that Fukase meant trouble, and if needed, he won't decline violance. His gang was one of the reasons, she had always thought twice before going to gatherings like these and Yohio had picked a fight with him not once in his lifetime.

While Fukase examined Yohio's face, with a grimace, probably contamplating whether it needed a redo with a fist, a dire realisation hit Gumi, she lifted Kiyoteru's nearly limp body by the collar and hissed into his ear.

"Tell me, where you got them from..."

"What..." A low, drained voice was scantilly registered by the green-haired girl's ears. The brunet's head was turned to the ground, unluckily he soon spotted another pair of shoes standing in his line of vision - Mayu was next to him. He didn't want her to be near. He was afraid.

"Don't play coy." Gumi tugged at the collar again." The meds. Where, Kiyo? We gotta know."

The brown-haired boy's face got decorated with a slight false smile, right before a giant clutter and Yohio's grunt. Fukase was back to his usual - beating the weaker ones. At that short moment, when Gumi got distracted, Kiyoteru slipped free, running towards the woods.

"Hey! Come back here!" Gumi exclaimed, chasing after him with Mayu. However this did not went unseen by Fukase's friends. And an older violet-haired girl - Yukari, whisteled to get her companions' attention.

"We're going after them!"

Kiyoteru's tent was ripped open from the side, after Fukase willingly kicked Yohio into it. However that was the least of the blonde's worries, as he struggled with the older, much stronger male on top. He tried to shove Fukase in the ribs, but since that attempt was blocked, he settled on the side, knocking the red-haired man away from him. Fukase cursed behind his breath, and this gave Yohio a few seconds to catch a breath and stand up. Unsullied rage was burning in his eyes, the same one he carried for years. The only problem was, that he had no idea what to do with it.

In the meantime, Kiyoteru evaded stubs, running through the thick forest. He was already out of breath, and had lost his glasses, when he fell over a sprawled root a few minutes ago. Yet, the teenager could not pause, he knew what consiquences awaited him, he did not want to face them. It was not his fault, the back of his mind proclaimed, and the male clung to that thin string of hope as the last protector. He was afraid, and the only way out for him was through the woods. Kiyoteru's side was beginning to ache, and his breaths got deeper, and deeper, pushing very little oxygen down his burning throat. In the end his leg collided with a tree, nearly forcing the male to meet the ground. As the wincing teenager rose his head, the sight terrified him.

He stumbled upon a cliff. Kiyoteru warilly glanced behind himself, perchance he still had time to make a turn... Although the teenagers hope died, rotted and faded, as he spotted the outlines of Gumi and Mayu, gaining up on him. There was nowhere to run... He could hear the beating of his heart, or perhaps the screaming. It was darkening pretty quickly in his eyes...

A sudden pat woke him up, it was Gumi.

"Kiyoteru, off with it!"

The brown-haired boy finally lifted his teary eyes at them, seeing Gumi's commanding gaze and Mayu's gloomy pupils. Kiyoteru stammered.

"I-I... am really sorry..."

"That's not the time to apologise, Kiyo!" Gumi lectured." Tell us what happened."

"I-It... was a mi-mistake. I di-didn't want to, I swear I didn't. All that I wanted was to have a good time."

"You still stole. Why?" Mayu's whisper reached his ear.

"I don't know... I don't know..." Kiyoteru shook his head, as his whole body shivered and the events of the previous night filtered into his mind, replaying clearly, without the curtain, hat had befogged his sight earlier. The brunet had seen things he wished, were still masked inside the bag. "I-I like you, Angel. I re-really do. All I wanted was to make a good impression."

Mayu's head tilted slightly, as she gazed at the broken teen from above. Her expression seemed to be a mixture of sadness and fury. Yet no words were spoken to disclose the reason. Gumi walked closer to Kiyoteru, and crouched down beside him, while twirling her hair in anxiousness.

"There's still one thing, I'd like to know, Kiyo. Fukase mentioned, that there had been six packets, but you brought us two. So where are the others?"

Kiyoteru stared at her with glassy, wet eyes, his bottom lip trembling constantly.

"I can't remember... I can't remember anything."

"For the love of..." Gumi cursed, and a cold mocking laughter erupted next to her as if a flaming volcano. Gumi whirled around at Mayu in utter disbelief. "Angel?"

"Oh, dear! You humans are so stupid! That was your decision, your free will. How can you waste it on such dubious actions is beyond me." Mayu trekked closer to edge of the cliff. Gumi's initial shock, turned into horror, as she extended her hand onwards.

"Heavens, Angel, are you alright?"

"Alright, yes." The voice sounded melodious to Gumi, angelic even. And as the sun climbed the horizon, it's rays playfully lit Mayu's back, leaving her smiling face in the shade. She lowered her head, her tone dropped likewise. "But what about you? You, honestly, confuse me with your dependecies and insecurities, it's just so sickening, all your lies and the search for false happiness. Maybe one day you'll understand my words, like I am still hopping to comprehend my father's... Time is meassured, yes, but it's still endless. So maybe one day..."

"Angel..." Gumi's eyes widened, while Kiyoteru stayed by her side, spooked by the whole event. "I don't understand, what are you saying."

"Hm." Mayu lips curved into a satisfied, yet ridiculing smirk and she gracefully turned around to gaze at the ravenous sea down below. "Guess my instinct was right all along. I don't belong here."

The brown-haired teen wobbled for an instant, before he finally found stability, he wanted to get closer to Mayu, have her explain those words. Although his shoulder was sharply pulled back by Gumi, who simply shook her head. In the background they both could hear Yukari's voice. And Mayu exhaled sadly, not sparing them a glance.

"Go on you two, run, so they wouldn't catch you. I'll repay them for your stolen medications."

X X X

Dear Mayu, (Angel)

I know you probably won't answer, and it doesn't even depend on whether I send this or not... I just want to know, how are you and how are your grandparents. And also if you are safe, after what happened.

Even if I prefer not to talk about it, I can not avoid the subject of the events back at the Heaven's Forest. It's like you disappeared after you saved my and Gumi's arses from Fukase's gang. I am still very greatful for that, honestly. I'm scared for you. So where are you, Angel?

Your wellbeing, that's all that I care about. I understand now, that I forced you into a situation that had been foreign to you. For that I deeply apologise. But my apologies probably mean nothing to you now, when everyhting has passed. I feel so stupid.

On another note, I guess I could tell you about what happened to us. So I'm a student in a college now, (barely got exepted) I am studying engineering, not exactly what I wanted to study. But hey, I never really payed attention to learning anyway, Yohio always dragged me out somewhere and away from books...

Speaking about Yohio. He's sitting in jail now, because the bruises he left on Fukase were quite rough, and the whole ordeal hadn't went unnoticed. I don't visit him often. Eversince I stole the meds from the cold, he had started to shy away from me. Maybe he thinks, that I'm replaying his mistake, when he robbed his father. I don't know, (I learned my lesson about stealing, don't worry). And I haven't talked to Gumi since the incident in the forest as well. Though I had spotted her once, she was chatting with her classmates in town. Gumi seemed like a totally diferent person to me. I was afraid to catch her attention. It felt as if it would be wrong of me, to make her recall that mess. I think that, the whole ordeal in the Heaven's Forest was the last straw of our friendship.

I don't really know, what to say anymore... But I would really want to get an answer from you, or at least somesort of a sign, that you are okay.

Best Wishes,  
Kiyoteru Hiyama

X X X

A/N: Thank you for reading my first Vocaloid fanfiction, it means a lot to me! (And this was a real joy to write) If you perchance have any thoughts or criticizm I'd be happy to hear them. Have a nice day (night) and see you soon! ^^


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